Hulk and Iron Man make one mean team

Remember the end of The Avengers, when our heroes go their separate ways — except for Bruce Banner, who rides off in Tony Stark’s car? Fans hoped that might lead to a Hulk/Iron Man team-up in next May’s Iron Man 3, but it turns out we’re getting that adventure in animated form. The green guy and the metal man will be featured in Iron Man & Hulk: Heroes United, a hybrid of computer-generated and hand-drawn art that will be the first film from the new Marvel Animation Studios (out on DVD April 23). Adrian Pasdar (NBC’s Heroes) voices Iron Man and Fred Tatasciore (a veteran of previous Hulk cartoons) voices Banner as the duo battle the villain Zzzax, a creature formed out of pure energy who can absorb human minds. (Zzzax is voiced by Dee Bradley Baker, best known as Klaus the goldfish on American Dad.) While this isn’t a direct sequel to The Avengers, ”in tone and character, we want to follow our best leader,” says Jeph Loeb, executive VP of Marvel’s TV division. ”The challenge was to pick up the banter between the two of them. Certainly, Adrian Pasdar’s performance is inspired by what Robert Downey Jr. does, and Mark [Ruffalo] laid down such an incredible path for us to be able to follow.” There’s one change from the live-action movie: ”You’ll see in Heroes United that Hulk’s a little more articulate,” Loeb says. After road-tripping with Stark, how could he not become a bit more loquacious?